Slow....

Slow progress. Slower results. More backsliding. 

I was on a good clip in November... hit my lowest weight since I had Miss M, but fell right back into bad habits and lost it. 

I printed out the first week of Jamie Eason's Post Pregnancy training tonight. It's all stuff I can do at home, while M naps or plays in her jumperoo. It's been hard to get to the gym regularly, trying to balance the schedules for both the big kids in school, plus sports. I have a hard time shutting down and going to bed early. I have a wicked sweet tooth. All of these are just excuses, I know. I keep waiting for that moment when we fall into a routine, but it just isn't happening.  There's always something "extra" going on that messes with our schedules, if even just holidays and special events. 

I've been doing a decent job on water (have really focused on getting 100+ oz a day) and trying to get good food in my system. I have a hard time in the 3-5pm time period. Goal is to keep chugging water at that time instead of stuffing my face. M is sleeping better now, so I feel like I'm coming OUT of the "survival mode" time and it feels like the right time to ramp up my focus and training.  But even if I can only make it to the gym 1-2 times a week, I am hoping that I can get my food choices (primarily the sweets!) under control. 

So... this is just a brain dump. It's been awhile since I posted here so maybe keeping accountable here will help too.    Tomorrow I plan to take my measurements, but I likely won't start the Jamie Eason plan until Wednesday as I have (yet another) project that will take up my "free time" tomorrow. 

I'm baaaaccckkkk *almost*

It's been a minute, hasn't it?!

40wks, 4days pregnant

While I haven't posted in quite awhile, I kept working out throughout my pregnancy. I think I went to my cardio class for the last time around 38 weeks. I felt amazing. I gained around 30lbs total (far cry from the 45-50 I gained with the other two!)

On July 20 (5 days late!!), Miss M was born. Perfection in a tiny bundle <3 Even though my OB had me convinced she was going to be a GIANT at 10+ lbs (based on A's weight and being my third baby, then the fact that she was so overdue!), she turned out to be a tiny peanut at only 7lb, 9oz.


Now here we are, six weeks later! I'm about to get my go ahead to start working out again (WOOHOO) and I'm in the midst of researching how to work out safely without jeopardizing my milk supply, which is obviously my first priority.

I am going to start easy - a few "runs" (not sure how this will go!) and some at home workouts. I want to start using the awesome resistance band set we have to build my strength. I am hoping to do these while M sleeps and A goes to school.

I plan to renew my gym membership this week, but will have to find some alternate times to go since I am hesitant to put Miss M in childcare at such a young age - especially with big kids just going back to school and alllllll the germs floating around in childcare environments right now!

I'm going to take my measurements tomorrow (sometime after I can find my tape measure!! Moving messed me ALL up!) but my starting weight is 186lbs.  Goal? No idea. To feel comfortable in my own skin. To fit into the majority of my clothing. To be a happy woman and the best mom I can be.

And for goodness sake, to PR my next half marathon ;-)   That race, however, is still TBD. :-) 

Day 5 and Done.

 Day 5

M1: Cherry pie Lara Bar

M2: 2 hot dogs, 1/2 avocado, pineapple

M3: BBQ cobb salad with no cheese or dressing. Confident that there was sugar in the bacon and the rub on the chicken. 

By M3, I had realized I was probably done with Whole30. I had barely eaten that day and forced myself to eat. I promised myself I would quit if I hit two conditions - skipping meals or the loss of 5lbs. 

Well, yesterday I hit the "no appetite, would skip meals" place. Then this morning, when I stepped on the scale, I had hit the 5lb loss. 5lbs in 5 days ORDINARILY would be amazing.  No appetite and no cravings ORDINARILY would be awesome. But right now in my pregnancy, those aren't things I am looking for.   I am done with Whole30-ing until after the baby comes. I am not worried about my weight gain so there's no reason to do it for that. I am hoping to keep my sugar cravings under control so that I don't get to the binging place that I was at before I started this. 

So, on to the next thing. I am continuing to move, not FAST but I'm moving!  I honestly can't WAIT to get back to hard runs, Jamie Eason's LiveFit training and a real Whole30 once things settle down around here! 

Whole7ish Days 3-4

Today. Was. Hard.

I started hitting the dreaded wall today. I was able to force myself to eat so I will go on another day with my Whole7ish. I don't know how much longer I will make it, but I am going to try my hardest to make it to at least 7 days!! I think I can, I think I can! 

Day 3

M1: Eggs, bacon, avocado.
M2: Spaghetti squash, meatballs, broccoli with Tessamae's balsamic.
M3: Salsa chicken on salad with avocado, sauteed potatoes. 

**Snacks: Apple pie Lara Bar & a microwaved apple with cinnamon and coconut oil. 

Day 4

M1: Leftover sauteed potatoes with bacon and 2 fried eggs. Fresh pineapple.
M2: Applegate hot dog, grapes, broccoli with Tessamae's.
M3: Apple cider vinegar pork chops, sauteed apples with cinnamon and coconut oil, curried cauliflower.

**Snacks: Paleo "cereal" (walnuts, pecans, dried bing cherries, raisins, unsweetened coconut shreds with about 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk) & a banana. 

**When I did my first Whole30, I followed the "no snacking" rule very closely, but being pregnant, I have been using snacks to make sure I am getting enough calories to support growing a person :-) 

Whole7ish Days 1-2

So far, so good.  The wonderful thing about Whole30 is that it's kind of like riding a bike.  Even though it's been a year since I've completed a full 30 days, we've done 3 "refresher" rounds, so Whole30-minded eating has never been far from my mind.  This time is no different. I am back to my "typical" meals and I am ok with that! I don't mind having the same food day in and day out, so it works for me to be doing leftovers and extras.

Day 1: 

M1: 3 scrambled eggs, 3 slices of Wellshire paleo bacon, 1/2 avocado, power greens. 
M2: Trader Joe's grassfed burger (from the frozen section!) with mustard and pickles, carrots, TJ's green olives and purple grapes. 
M3: Baked chicken, boiled green beans, large sweet potato with cinnamon only.
Snacks (I wouldn't be snacking if I weren't pregnant!): Apple with almond butter, 2 bananas.
Workout: 1 hour, 13 minutes of cardio (treadmill walking and elliptical)

Day 2:

M1: 3 scrambled eggs, 3 slices of Wellshire paleo bacon, power greens. 

M2: TJ's grassfed burger, boiled green beans, sweet potato with cinnamon, olives. 

M3: Spaghetti Squash with Well Fed meatballs (marinara sauce from Aldi! Compliant!), broccoli/cauliflower mix. 

Snacks: Key lime pie Lara bar, banana, almonds.

Workout: 75 minutes of Yoga.

Trying to keep reminding myself that this is only 1-2 weeks. I am already sleeping better (and waking up without as much hassle, which is always my favorite part of a Whole30!). I've been having some hip pain in relation to my pregnancy and I am HOPING that if I can stick with Whole30 long enough, that will go away (fingers crossed!) 

Updates & What's Up Next

Well it's been awhile. Sorry about that! Things have been CRAZY around this house between trying to find a new house and getting ready for the baby (as much as possible knowing we are moving before she comes!)

Yes, if you caught that, it is a SHE!  I am 25 weeks this week. I can hardly believe it because time is moving so.fast!







I don't have any perfect way to remember, but if memory serves me, by this time in my pregnancy with my first two, I had already gained 25 lbs. So far this time, I have only gained approximately 15! I have tried to keep moving, although running just feels downright awful now. I can sprint (I should say "sprint" for me now means max of 5.5 on the treadmill!) for a few minutes, but then my hips start to feel all out of whack and I have to slow way back down.  I'm trying to keep lifting a little, DEFINITELY doing squats (they are supposed to be super beneficial for childbirth!)

Haha excuse the face. 

My food choices have been.... less than stellar. I find afternoons are the hardest and I have fallen back into a frenzied "eat all the things" place if I have any one little treat in that time. I am doing a "Whole7" with a few friends. That is usually enough time for me to reset my cravings, get my eating right and feel better (maybe my sleep will be better too!) Seven days should be enough of a reset but not enough for my body to get the the scary weight loss/stop eating place that I've gotten to the last few rounds I've attempted.

I stocked up today on veggies, almond butter, eggs and greens. Hoping to get to Whole Foods to get bacon (yay!) and some other protein sources.

So that's the update for now! Nothing amazing going on for sure.  I will try to update how this Whole7 goes, though., once we get started. :-)

You know what silence means....

I might as well just reference this post again, because I wound up in the EXACT same place...

After 10 days of being on Whole30, I had lost 5 pounds, was struggling to get enough calories and had completely lost my appetite. Ordinarily, these would all be awesome results to get from this.  However, I am pregnant and I was warned by my OB that I was clear to do a Whole30 as long as I was getting enough calories.  Around day 10, I got to the same mental place where I preferred to NOT eat instead of eating compliant food. I had NO cravings and no appetite. I was barely scraping by with 1000 calories a day, where my calorie requirements are closer to 2,000!

I am a HUGE Whole30 supporter. I believed (and STILL believe) everyone should at least TRY to complete one. It's hard, I would never tell you it's easy. But it's worth it. I miss feeling awesome. I miss SLEEPING - my pregnancy-induced insomnia was gone and I would bound out of bed in the morning ready to face the day.  But I have to do what's best for me and the baby at this point. 

My husband has continued his Whole30 through today, which he planned to stop (so a Whole24). I have been keeping our family dinners compliant for his benefit. I have added in sprouted grain bread and (let's be honest here) treats!  Oh how I missed peanut butter!!

I am still 1lb below where I was on Jan 1 when I started this Whole30. My goal for this pregnancy is not to gain 40lbs, but honestly? My doctor has always ALWAYS told me how much you gain DURING pregnancy does.not.matter. It's how much you take off when you're done, in what amount of time. I am thankful for his opinion because I do tend to gain weight. But I also plan to stay more active this time than the last two times.

While I am enjoying being able to have a treat or fulfill a craving, I do miss how GOOD I felt being wholly compliant.  I am trying to make sure I am eating enough veggies (my biggest issue when not on Whole30) and to cut back on the refined sugars!

Whole30 Round 2, days 3-7

Just meal plans for a bit! I am thrilled to be getting back to working out soon!

Day 3: 

Breakfast: turkey sausage, sweet potato, egg bake. Coffee w/coconut milk. Blackberries. 

Mid am: random fruit at a bday party. 

Lunch: 2 hb eggs. Carrots. olives. Banana. 

Dinner: hamburger party. Side salad. Side of fruit.

Day 4: 

Breakfast: Sausage, sweet potato & egg bake. Apple. Avocado.

Lunch: HUGE salad - romaine, chicken breast, olives, cucumbers, carrots. 1/3 baked potato with salsa. 

Dinner: Steak, curried cauliflower, baked potato, sauteed mushrooms, salad with Tessamae's balsamic dressing.

Day 5: 

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 1/3 avocado, greens, banana. 

PWO: egg white

Lunch: steak, 1/2 avocado, carrots, sweet potato (about 1/2). 

PM snack: banana, handful almonds

Dinner: spaghetti squash & meatballs. Salad.

Day 6:

Breakfast: 2 slices of bacon, 1/2 an avocado, 3 scrambled eggs, banana. Coffee with coconut cream.

Lunch: most of a chicken breast with Frank's, romaine with a splash of tessamae's balsamic, carrots, 1/2 of a pear, 3 meatballs. 

Dinner: Almond crusted chicken strips, pineapple, sweet potato "fries" (they were really mushy!) and roasted broccoli.

Day 7: 

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled, 2 slices of bacon, 1/4 avocado, banana. 

Lunch: 4 meatballs, spaghetti squash (not much, probably 1/4-1/2 cup), 6 olives, apple.

Midafternoon: banana

Dinner: 1 1/2 buffalo chicken stuffed peppers and a side salad.

Whole30, #2, Days 1-2

Oh the headache on day 1!!

I skipped my coffee because the baby just DOESN'T like it some mornings. BIG mistake. I had a headache so bad I could barely hold my head up most of the day. :(

Add to that my husband's superstition about eating chicken/eggs on NYD.... it was interesting finding food yesterday!

We hadn't made it to Whole Foods for bacon yet, so he threw together a hot dog/potato/red pepper scramble. It wasn't the worst concoction we've ever had but I don't think we'll be rushing to try it again. ;-)  I also had 1/4 of an avocado and half of a grapefruit.

Lunch: 4 baby cucumbers, handful of olives, hot dogs and whole grain mustard. 

Dinner: Crispy carnitas, roasted broccoli, baked potato with compliant salsa. 

Friday was better. I was able to get down about a half a cup of coffee with coconut cream - so far, no headache!

Breakfast: 3 over medium eggs, 1/2 avocado, one cup of blackberries.

Lunch: Baked chicken breast, 1/4 avocado, 2 clementines, about a cup of baby carrots.

Afternoon: 1oz almonds

Dinner: Cracklin' chicken, roasted carrots, roasted potatoes.  This was pretty big as I normally CANNOT STAND cooked carrots. These? They'll be made in my house 1-2 times a week going forward. Delicious!! 

I need to modify just slightly. I am only coming in around 1,000 calories and I JUST don't feel like that's enough while pregnant. Yes, I know the rules, but I am being overly cautious because of my pregnancy.  So I will watch my protein intake (keep it less than 20% of my total daily macros), calories and calcium. So I will be adding a fourth meal and possibly a snack after dinner just to make sure I'm hitting 1500+ calories.